Tell me about Ozempic (Wegovy, etc)

[UT_OB1 2198]

29 minutes ago, Herbie Hancock said:

As do I, but air doesnt passively move in and out of the stomach. Thank your epiglottis for that. The only way that you can smell someone’s stomach contents is if they burp in your face or they’ve lost vagal tone due to being dead.

At least in my case, I had a lot of acid reflux and burped a lot. Maybe she was just smelling the burps?
 

 

[Herbie Hancock 7296]

At least in my case, I had a lot of acid reflux and burped a lot. Maybe she was just smelling the burps?
 
 

Then it’s not the fault of ozempic as much as it is of the person that keeps nasty ass friends that feel it’s acceptable to burp in your face?

[Js1 84994]

23 hours ago, TTU13 said:

Everyone I know that is taking it currently has some major mood swings and having erratic behavior. It’s to the point where some people we keep at an arms length away because the behavior is so unpredictable and not worth the headaches.

[C-Man 26930]

Good friend is an ER doctor. He was telling us a story the other day of a female patient he saw who was taking Ozempic and hadn't shit in six weeks by the time she got to him. She's dead now.

[MonkeyDoughnut 10098]

2 hours ago, Herbie Hancock said:

Because it’s not even remotely possible. The causes of bad breath have zero to do with stomach contents. Nevermind the fact that the epiglottis doesn’t function that way. Can and do medications cause bad breath? Absolutely, but that’s not how.

Acid reflux is caused by foods hanging out in the stomach longer and is also a cause of bad breath. Lots of people mentioning increased acid reflux when on Ozempic.

[chainsaw 9810]

40 minutes ago, C-Man said:

Good friend is an ER doctor. He was telling us a story the other day of a female patient

Yadda yadda yadda

Quote

She's dead now.

 

[Buzzrock 14859]

On 4/1/2024 at 12:53 PM, Mittens said:

They are compounding the primary medication (semiglutide) with other chems to make an equivalent to the name brand version.  Results vary - I have several friends who have gone this route and are perfectly happy.  I'm visiting another in the hospital today - she's been there a month now and this shit almost killed her.

Care to elaborate on the almost killer her part? What happened?

It has worked wonders for my mom too. 75 yrs old and pretty overweight. She said she didn’t feel too great at first but now with the weight she’s lost she feels awesome. Doesn’t care if it’s a forever drug, she’s 75. 

[Pato del Muerto 52232]

7 hours ago, C-Man said:

Good friend is an ER doctor. He was telling us a story the other day of a female patient he saw who was taking Ozempic and hadn't shit in six weeks by the time she got to him. She's dead now.

Did she not eat, or eat but not poop?  Because the latter seems like a recipe for gaining weight. 

[Mittens 8126]

9 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

Care to elaborate on the almost killer her part? What happened?

I'm not entirely certain as far as specific cause/effect, because I'm not in the room and I'm not going to dig in on her parents about what questions they're asking the doctors.  I'm not a doctor and I'm too far outside the loop to be taking what I say as fact, so grains of salt and all that.

She's been taking a compounded version of semaglutide for a while now, and about a month ago her belly distended like she was hiding a basketball and she was in terrible pain.  Called 911 just in time - she flatlined 3x in the 36 hours after the call.  Both her kidneys and liver had shut down, she had 2L of fluid drained from her abdomen, and they discovered a heart ailment (tricuspid valve issue?) that is likely unrelated, and was there but undetected previously.  She was touch-and-go for the first week, but has stabilized and is recovering, albeit slowly.  Her kidneys are coming back but her liver is not responding and last I heard they were talking about a transplant.  

I'll say this:  Her stubbornness played a HUGE part in this.  She had been feeling poorly for a week+ before that final day when she made the call to 911.  If she would have just gone to the doctor, I'd hope they'd have seen what was going on and helped her before she was so far gone.  She didn't even want to go that day - she was going to make an appointment for the next day when her father told her to hang up the phone w/ him and call 911 immediately or she was going to die (he's an MD).

[lucious leftfoot 126]

39 minutes ago, Mittens said:

I'm not entirely certain as far as specific cause/effect, because I'm not in the room and I'm not going to dig in on her parents about what questions they're asking the doctors.  I'm not a doctor and I'm too far outside the loop to be taking what I say as fact, so grains of salt and all that.

She's been taking a compounded version of semaglutide for a while now, and about a month ago her belly distended like she was hiding a basketball and she was in terrible pain.  Called 911 just in time - she flatlined 3x in the 36 hours after the call.  Both her kidneys and liver had shut down, she had 2L of fluid drained from her abdomen, and they discovered a heart ailment (tricuspid valve issue?) that is likely unrelated, and was there but undetected previously.  She was touch-and-go for the first week, but has stabilized and is recovering, albeit slowly.  Her kidneys are coming back but her liver is not responding and last I heard they were talking about a transplant.  

I'll say this:  Her stubbornness played a HUGE part in this.  She had been feeling poorly for a week+ before that final day when she made the call to 911.  If she would have just gone to the doctor, I'd hope they'd have seen what was going on and helped her before she was so far gone.  She didn't even want to go that day - she was going to make an appointment for the next day when her father told her to hang up the phone w/ him and call 911 immediately or she was going to die (he's an MD).

Sounds like her liver failed. Not sure it has anything to do with Oh Oh Ozempic.

[Mittens 8126]

Thanks Doc. 

[Herbie Hancock 7296]

She suffered Multiple Organ Dysfunction or MODS (not to be confused with SCMODS, Elwood), most likely due to septic shock caused by a bowel impaction. Depending on the scarring her liver suffered will affect its ability to heal itself or necessitate a replacement.

Is Ozempic hepatotoxic and renal toxic? Absolutely not. Did Ozempic contribute to her issue by causing her to be constipated? Good chance. Did she exacerbate the mole hill into Mt. Kilimanjaro via ignorance and stubbornness? Very good chance.

[C-Man 26930]

10 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Did she not eat, or eat but not poop?  Because the latter seems like a recipe for gaining weight. 

Not sure. I'll make a mental note to ask him next time I see him.

[chainsaw 9810]

I think the takeaway here is a lot of these ER visits could have been prevented if these people had listened to their own bodies and sought medical attention weeks before. I can't imagine going over a week without a bowel movement. Six fucking weeks???

Edited April 9 by chainsaw

[HouTex 1841]

30 minutes ago, chainsaw said:

I think the takeaway here is a lot of these ER visits could have been prevented if these people had listened to their own bodies and sought medical attention weeks before. I can't imagine going over a week without a bowel movement. Six fucking weeks???

I can’t imagine going a day without a bowel movement, but I’m 61 and I’ve never been constipated.  

[Grimas 657]

On 4/8/2024 at 10:17 AM, lucious leftfoot said:

Anecdotally, my wife says she's noticed that a couple of moms obviously on it have god awful breath. I'm guessing it's from the food backed up in their stomach.

I was gonna joke that it was semen breath but then I saw the word "moms" (ergo wives) in the comment...

[chainsaw 9810]

28 minutes ago, Grimas said:

I was gonna joke that it was semen breath but then I saw the word "moms" (ergo wives) in the comment...

[elfenix 34161]

On 4/1/2024 at 11:03 AM, Parliament said:

You Millennials are soft.  When I was fat I fixed it with cocaine and cigarettes.

Username checks out

[Pato del Muerto 52232]

So all moms are wives?

[dcbc 14367]

Like most things, there is a segment of the population that will have weird and negative side effects. I've watched a lot of YouTube videos by those 10% who get bad gastro issues, bad results, immune responses, etc. but for 90% (it seems, made up numbers) it seems safe and easy button.

I was fine on it for a year and a half, until I wasn't. Oh well.

[chainsaw 9810]

30 minutes ago, dcbc said:

On 4/4/2024 at 10:00 AM, BeardIP said:

Like most things, there is a segment of the population that will have weird and negative side effects. I've watched a lot of YouTube videos by those 10% who get bad gastro issues, bad results, immune responses, etc. but for 90% (it seems, made up numbers) it seems safe and easy button.

I was fine on it for a year and a half, until I wasn't. Oh well.

do you think you would have done better using a different supply or compound based on the same active ingredient?

[dcbc 14367]

On 4/11/2024 at 3:59 PM, chainsaw said:

do you think you would have done better using a different supply or compound based on the same active ingredient?

I theorize that having food spend a longer time in my stomach disrupted my gut biome over the long term, which may tend to explain the correlation between my taking a probiotic and the hiccups quickly abating (since I still was only a few days out from my last shot). 

 

And since I have managed to lose more weight since coming off Ozempic than when I was on it, I don't see much of a reason to go back on it.  I was 249 when I started Ozempic.  I quickly got down to 229 on it.  There, I stagnated, mostly because I used it as a crutch to continue bad eating habits.  That's on me.  I made a lifestyle change (during the week) when I came off of it because I was very concerned about putting that weight back on.  This morning, I was 197.  I'm kind of stagnating again, and likely will put on weight over the weekend.  But 197 is a new low point since this all began for me.

 

These drugs are a miracle.  They really are.  But I don't ever want to have another week like I had with those hiccups.

Edited April 12 by dcbc

[DDD Dad 14144]

On 4/9/2024 at 10:57 AM, HouTex said:

I can’t imagine going a day without a bowel movement, but I’m 61 and I’ve never been constipated.  

I just had a bowel movement, so, you know, close to home. 

[chainsaw 9810]

On 4/12/2024 at 5:52 PM, dcbc said:

I theorize that having food spend a longer time in my stomach disrupted my gut biome over the long term, which may tend to explain the correlation between my taking a probiotic and the hiccups quickly abating (since I still was only a few days out from my last shot). 

 

And since I have managed to lose more weight since coming off Ozempic than when I was on it, I don't see much of a reason to go back on it.  I was 249 when I started Ozempic.  I quickly got down to 229 on it.  There, I stagnated, mostly because I used it as a crutch to continue bad eating habits.  That's on me.  I made a lifestyle change (during the week) when I came off of it because I was very concerned about putting that weight back on.  This morning, I was 197.  I'm kind of stagnating again, and likely will put on weight over the weekend.  But 197 is a new low point since this all began for me.

 

These drugs are a miracle.  They really are.  But I don't ever want to have another week like I had with those hiccups.

Glad you've been able to keep up the weight loss. That's exceptional, as most people who stop using GLP-1 gain the weight back.

[Mittens 8126]

On 4/9/2024 at 8:25 AM, Mittens said:

I'm not entirely certain as far as specific cause/effect, because I'm not in the room and I'm not going to dig in on her parents about what questions they're asking the doctors.  I'm not a doctor and I'm too far outside the loop to be taking what I say as fact, so grains of salt and all that.

She's been taking a compounded version of semaglutide for a while now, and about a month ago her belly distended like she was hiding a basketball and she was in terrible pain.  Called 911 just in time - she flatlined 3x in the 36 hours after the call.  Both her kidneys and liver had shut down, she had 2L of fluid drained from her abdomen, and they discovered a heart ailment (tricuspid valve issue?) that is likely unrelated, and was there but undetected previously.  She was touch-and-go for the first week, but has stabilized and is recovering, albeit slowly.  Her kidneys are coming back but her liver is not responding and last I heard they were talking about a transplant.  

I'll say this:  Her stubbornness played a HUGE part in this.  She had been feeling poorly for a week+ before that final day when she made the call to 911.  If she would have just gone to the doctor, I'd hope they'd have seen what was going on and helped her before she was so far gone.  She didn't even want to go that day - she was going to make an appointment for the next day when her father told her to hang up the phone w/ him and call 911 immediately or she was going to die (he's an MD).

Finally got to visit my friend and got some clarity on cause:  NOT semaglutide related.  She had stopped the semaglutide several months previous.  This was a result of a thyroid issue.  

[chainsaw 9810]

That's a relief. I still haven't jumped on the bandwagon.

[cabowabo 4446]

I’ve been taking on and off for about a year.  I am 5’11 and was about 207 when I started. I pretty quickly lost 20 pounds and seemed to plateau there. I’m pretty happy staying at around 187.  20 pounds makes big difference. Most of my pants and shirts seem too big now. I even noticed it in my watches. Had to resize watch bracelets, etc. I’ve really like the way it knocks down hunger/cravings.  As far as side effects, just a few bouts with constipation and a couple of towel biting bowel movements that did not want to pass. Other than that, two thumbs up. 

[chainsaw 9810]

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/24/health/senate-ozempic-wegovy-price/index.html

Quote

Sanders launches Senate investigation into ‘outrageously high’ pricing of Ozempic, Wegovy

By Tami Luhby and Katherine Dillinger, CNN

Sen. Bernie Sanders is taking aim at the high prices of the blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.

The Vermont senator, an independent who has long called out drug manufacturers for their costly products, is launching an investigation into the “outrageously high prices” Novo Nordisk charges for the drugs.

“The scientists at Novo Nordisk deserve great credit for developing these drugs that have the potential to be a game changer for millions of Americans struggling with type 2 diabetes and obesity. As important as these drugs are, they will not do any good for the millions of patients who cannot afford them,” Sanders, chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, wrote Wednesday in a letter to the drugmaker’s CEO. “Further, if the prices for these products are not substantially reduced, they also have the potential to bankrupt Medicare, Medicaid, and our entire health care system.”

Medicare spending on Ozempic and similar diabetes drugs soars, study finds, and it could end up costing seniors
Sanders is asking Novo Nordisk to answer whether it will “substantially reduce” the prices of the medications as well as to provide information on how much it makes from selling the drugs, how much it spent on research and development and how it determined the prices.

Ozempic is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat diabetes and Wegovy to help certain people lose weight or lower their risk of cardiovascular disease. Both are injectable drugs that use the active ingredient semaglutide, one of a class of medications called GLP-1 receptor agonists.

Novo Nordisk increased the list price for Ozempic by 3.5% this year to $969 for a four-week supply but kept the price of Wegovy unchanged at $1,349. The drugmaker told CNN in February that it increases the list prices of some medications each year based on changes in the health care system, inflation and market conditions.

Sanders’ letter notes that researchers at Yale University recently found that these medications “can be profitably manufactured for less than $5 a month.” Also, Ozempic costs only $155 in Canada and $59 in Germany, while Wegovy can be purchased for $140 in Germany and $92 in the United Kingdom, the senator pointed out.

Novo Nordisk agrees with Sanders that access to the medications is important for patients, the company said in a statement. It said it remains committed to working with policymakers on ways to support access and affordability.

“It’s easy to oversimplify the science that goes into understanding disease and developing and producing new treatments, as well as the intricacies of U.S. and global healthcare systems,” Novo Nordisk said. “However, the public debate doesn’t always take into account this extremely complex reality.”

For most Americans, the price they pay for medications depends on their health insurance policies, not drugmakers’ list prices. However, they may have to pay the list price if they are uninsured or have not yet hit their annual deductible. In addition, many drug manufacturers, including Novo Nordisk, offer savings cards and patient assistance programs that can reduce certain people’s out-of-pocket costs.

Ozempic is also proving costly for the federal government, while Wegovy’s recent approval to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes is expected to add to the tab.

Medicare is not allowed by law to cover drugs for weight loss but will cover Ozempic for enrollees with diabetes and Wegovy for those with cardiovascular disease who are overweight or obese. It spent $4.6 billion on Ozempic in 2022, compared with $2.6 billion the year before, according to KFF.

Another KFF analysis found that Wegovy could cost Medicare nearly $3 billion a year. Neither analysis took into account rebates, information on which is not publicly available.

The spike in spending on these drugs will probably contribute to higher Part D premiums for all beneficiaries.

CNN’s Meg Tirrell contributed to this report.

/No CR

[UT_OB1 2198]

I got a 6 week supply of the 50mg per shot for about $300, not covered by insurance. How / why are people paying $1000-1300?

[0xdeadbeef 1617]

1 hour ago, UT_OB1 said:

I got a 6 week supply of the 50mg per shot for about $300, not covered by insurance. How / why are people paying $1000-1300?

Where did you find this deal? My wife is going to ask the doc for it in a couple weeks at her next checkup. In case Insurance doesn't approve it, I'm looking at options to pay it directly. I'm seeing prices in the $1k and above range. 

 

[NoName 16265]

11 hours ago, UT_OB1 said:

I got a 6 week supply of the 50mg per shot for about $300, not covered by insurance. How / why are people paying $1000-1300?

sounds like you are getting the compounded stuff not the "name branded" stuff.

if you are in austin, they are absolutely price gouging. know someone there who saved $900 / mo by going to a provider outside of Travis County - and they are getting compounded stuff from a pharmacy, not the name brand.

[UT_OB1 2198]

Checked, yes it is compounded. I get it from Low T center. There are several in houston. 

[HRSchenker 2248]

On 4/29/2024 at 8:10 PM, UT_OB1 said:

I got a 6 week supply of the 50mg per shot for about $300, not covered by insurance. How / why are people paying $1000-1300?

Testosterone? If you're paying $300 for a 6 week supply you're getting ripped off

[UT_OB1 2198]

3 minutes ago, HRSchenker said:

Testosterone? If you're paying $300 for a 6 week supply you're getting ripped off

This is the semaglutide/ozempic thread. Keep up 😁

[UT_OB1 2198]

22 hours ago, 0xdeadbeef said:

Where did you find this deal? My wife is going to ask the doc for it in a couple weeks at her next checkup. In case Insurance doesn't approve it, I'm looking at options to pay it directly. I'm seeing prices in the $1k and above range. 

 

I still wish I could convince my wife to try it without her realizing I’m trying to convince her to try it 

[HRSchenker 2248]

16 minutes ago, UT_OB1 said:

This is the semaglutide/ozempic thread. Keep up 😁

Those injections usually max out at 2mg. Mounjaro at 15mg. The 50mg really threw me off.

[0xdeadbeef 1617]

17 minutes ago, UT_OB1 said:

I still wish I could convince my wife to try it without her realizing I’m trying to convince her to try it 

I've got no suggestion there. It was an A1C number that came in 0.1 away from being diabetic that did it. 

[UT_OB1 2198]

15 minutes ago, HRSchenker said:

Those injections usually max out at 2mg. Mounjaro at 15mg. The 50mg really threw me off.

I may have my decimal off. It may be 0.5.  I started at 25 first 2 weeks, which was probably 0.25. 

[chainsaw 9810]

14 hours ago, UT_OB1 said:

I still wish I could convince my wife to try it without her realizing I’m trying to convince her to try it 

Hard to accomplish

[UT_OB1 2198]

38 minutes ago, chainsaw said:

Hard to accomplish

We started Fallout on Amazon last night, and the scene in ep1 the main actress takes her jumper suit off to dress a wound, which was really just an the show using that to show her with just a sports bra on, and my wife said “I remember when I was skinny.”  
 

I ALMOST took that opportunity to try to bring up semaglutide, the words “me too” almost slipped out, but fortunately enough alarm bells were going off in my head and I just bit my tongue and kept watching. I’m not posting on the divorced thread today, so that’s nice. 

[HouTex 1841]

Been married for 35 years and I know that what’s good for the goose is NOT good for the gander, but my wife would be all over me if I was overweight.  She’s always been into fitness and working out and at 61 she still looks great but if she let herself go and got fat I would damn sure let her know.  If she gains two pounds she’s after me to help her lose weight.  

[chainsaw 9810]

2 hours ago, HouTex said:

Been married for 35 years and I know that what’s good for the goose is NOT good for the gander, but my wife would be all over me if I was overweight.  She’s always been into fitness and working out and at 61 she still looks great but if she let herself go and got fat I would damn sure let her know.  If she gains two pounds she’s after me to help her lose weight.  

Sounds exhausting.

[Pato del Muerto 52232]

I’d like to hear from nova about how different the US healthcare system is than that of Germany, Canada, and the UK such that a price differential of that amount is justifiable. Rather than them throwing it out there without explaining. 
 

usually, more available customers helps to lower the price of something, to actualize more of them. 

[chainsaw 9810]

Imagine how much everyone losing an average of 20-30 pounds would cut into healthcare profits. The concept of "profit" being extracted from the task of keeping people healthy (or alive) is pretty immoral, in the first place.

[Nivek 16771]

Imagine how much everyone losing an average of 20-30 pounds would cut into healthcare profits. The concept of "profit" being extracted from the task of keeping people healthy (or alive) is pretty immoral, in the first place.

[Zone Read 297]

I'll address the "etc." part of the title of this thread.  My wife and I both exercise 6 times a week doing High Intensity Interval Training weight and cardio workouts.  We eat a pretty clean diet, high in protein and try to stay away from simple carbs and processed food.  Both of us have been struggling with weight gain for 25 years.  Even with diet and exercise, we couldn't get back down to a healthy weight/body fat %.  My cardiologist has said I'm "very fit overweight guy."  

We started Zepbound last month, the weight loss version of the diabetes drug Mounjaro.  Of the current obesity drugs, it is the most effective by a slight margin.  My results have been pretty amazing.  My wife as well.  At $550 a month for each of us it is taking a slight financial toll on us but honestly I can't think of a better thing to spend money on.  While it has a definite physical effect on improving weight loss, the fact that it convinces your brain that you are full on much smaller portions of food and quiets the "food noise" cravings is what makes this so incredible.  

Problem is that you can't find this or the other obesity drugs anywhere.  My last dose from my previous prescription was friday and I can't source my next 7.5 dose from any pharmacy.  I've had CVS, Walmart, HEB search out to 450 miles away and nothing.  Eli Lilly, the manufacturer, is pumping out the starter dose of 2.5 and it's available, but none of the doses you titrate up to can be found.  I guess they want to maximize profits by getting you started and force you to stay at lower available dose so it slows down your weight loss from and keeps the $550 a month coming in for a longer period of time.  But, the stuff does work.  If you can find it.

[chainsaw 9810]

2 hours ago, Zone Read said:

I'll address the "etc." part of the title of this thread.  My wife and I both exercise 6 times a week doing High Intensity Interval Training weight and cardio workouts.  We eat a pretty clean diet, high in protein and try to stay away from simple carbs and processed food.  Both of us have been struggling with weight gain for 25 years.  Even with diet and exercise, we couldn't get back down to a healthy weight/body fat %.  My cardiologist has said I'm "very fit overweight guy."  

We started Zepbound last month, the weight loss version of the diabetes drug Mounjaro.  Of the current obesity drugs, it is the most effective by a slight margin.  My results have been pretty amazing.  My wife as well.  At $550 a month for each of us it is taking a slight financial toll on us but honestly I can't think of a better thing to spend money on.  While it has a definite physical effect on improving weight loss, the fact that it convinces your brain that you are full on much smaller portions of food and quiets the "food noise" cravings is what makes this so incredible.  

Problem is that you can't find this or the other obesity drugs anywhere.  My last dose from my previous prescription was friday and I can't source my next 7.5 dose from any pharmacy.  I've had CVS, Walmart, HEB search out to 450 miles away and nothing.  Eli Lilly, the manufacturer, is pumping out the starter dose of 2.5 and it's available, but none of the doses you titrate up to can be found.  I guess they want to maximize profits by getting you started and force you to stay at lower available dose so it slows down your weight loss from and keeps the $550 a month coming in for a longer period of time.  But, the stuff does work.  If you can find it.

I've heard a lot about these shortages. They'd be stupid not to get this sorted out. If people are willing to spend over $500 per month they are missing out on revenue

[Gatorubet 30023]

On 4/8/2024 at 3:46 PM, C-Man said:

Good friend is an ER doctor. He was telling us a story the other day of a female patient he saw who was taking Ozempic and hadn't shit in six weeks by the time she got to him. She's dead now.

if only a person could’ve known that not shitting for a month is bad for you

[Gatorubet 30023]

I have two buddies, one female, one male, who have taken this stuff.   The doc who prescribes it gives the shot in her office initially, and then sends you home with the stuff. They tell me the doctor buys it from some Canadian compounding source and they get it for about 350 bucks a month.    it seems like the Wild West as far as pricing - and each medical provider has their own marketing ideas and very possibly very different clientele with very different insurance coverage

[Pato del Muerto 52232]

https://www.empowerpharmacy.com/about/our-story/
 

Houston based compounder also selling it